Escondiendo is the literal translation for hiding?

I learned that Estoy Escondiendo means im hiding in spanish when I was a kid but I was shocked recently when You have to say "me" estoy Escondiendo,
like I argued about this like when you say im walking is EStoy caminando do you have to say me estoy caminando?
this is very weird for me

[Rusty]

If you check a dictionary, the verb 'walk' is caminar.
The present tense, first person singular form of the verb is camino. That means "I walk," "I do walk", "I'm walking", and "I'll walk (near future)."
If you are in the process of doing something, you should then use the present progressive form. This is formed from the conjugated form of the verb estar, plus the present participle. While walking, you can say "Estoy caminando." If you're not in the process of walking, you use the present tense "camino" instead.
Caminar isn't a pronominal verb.

Check the dictionary for the verb 'hide'. You'll find that it has two forms - esconder and esconderse. The first is not a pronominal verb. The second one is (the 'se' appended to it means that it's pronominal). The first verb is used when something is hidden or concealed, like when you hide a coin in your fist. The pronominal verb is used when a person hides, or whenever what is hiding is the subject of the sentence.
The present tense, first person singular form of esconder is escondo. That means "I hide/conceal (something)," "I do hide/conceal (something)", "I'm hiding/concealing (something)", and "I'll hide/conceal (something, near future)."

The pronominal form is conjugated along with a pronominal pronoun. First off, you remove the ending 'se' from the infinitive and conjugate as you do for the non-pronominal form. Then you place the pronoun before the conjugated verb (except for the affirmative imperative mood), but you have to first convert the pronoun to the correct person. There are 6 different persons, but the 3rd-person plural pronoun happens to be the same as the 3rd-person singular form.
If you're conjugating for first person singular, the pronoun is 'me'. So, to say "I'm hiding," you say "me escondo". This also means "I hide," "I do hide," and "I'll hide (near future)".
If you are in the process of hiding, the present progressive form is used. Again, this is formed from the conjugated form of the verb estar, plus the present participle. While you are hiding, you say "Me estoy escondiendo." If you're not in the process of hiding, you use the present tense "me escondo" instead.

Does that help dispel any confusion?

[aleCcowaN]

-Escondiendo is the literal translation for hiding?
-No

If you don't mind me asking, what do you think "literal" means?

[poli]

The present progressive (I am hiding out/ estoy escondiéndome) is a form less used in Spanish than English, but this doesn't mean you should always avoid its use. Very often the simple present (I hide/ escondo or me escondo) is used instead.

[Luna Azul]

Originally Posted by poli

The present progressive (I am hiding out/ estoy escondiéndome) is a form less used in Spanish than English, but this doesn't mean you should always avoid its use. Very often the simple present (I hide/ escondo or me escondo) is used instead.

"Escondo" is said when you are hiding something: "Escondo las llaves". "Estoy escondiendo las llaves" is commonly used.

"Me escondo" means "I hide myself" or "I'm hiding myself".

There's a slight difference between the two forms.. When using the present tense, I'm saying that the action is something I do on a regular basis: "Yo (siempre) escondo las llaves en el fondo del cajón".

The use of "estar + gerund" refers to an action that's happening now: "Estoy escondiendo las llaves para que el niño no las coja".